Infrastructure

Three Senate Democrats wrote to House Speaker John Boehner, urging him to restore transportation funding cut in pending House legislation.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials expressed dismay Monday over a House bill for a continuing resolution to fund the U.S. government.

Build America Bond payments will be delayed by up to six weeks and they will be cut by $171 million due to the automatic spending cuts that went into effect on Friday, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

Moody's Investors Service has given its stamp of approval to Virginia's new transportation funding plan, saying that it is a credit positive for the commonwealth at a time when it is highly exposed to risk from federal cuts.

Amid finger-pointing and political grandstanding, President Obama and congressional leaders failed to come to an agreement to avoid $85 billion in sweeping automatic budget cuts, which kicks in on Friday.

Congressional staffers and finance experts speaking at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Washington Briefing said the outlook for highway funding is more uncertain than ever, while two transport-oriented lawmakers vowed to work across the aisle to make sure state and local officials have federal support.

Two Democrats in the Senate who influence transportation policy have introduced legislation to create the American Infrastructure Investment Fund, a $10 billion infrastructure bank.

Moody's Investors Service announced Wednesday that it has changed its outlook for the airport sector to stable from negative, where it had been since August 2008.

The sequestration cuts scheduled to take effect March 1 could throw the muni market into uncertainty and slam the air transport sector, according to market groups and public officials.

The tax exemption on municipal bond interest will not survive tax reform efforts in Washington, D.C., without a grass-roots effort from issuers, according to market experts at the fifth National Municipal Bond Summit.

Chicago received 16 responses in its first market outreach to identify prospective bidders in a possible deal to privatize Midway International Airport, according to the city's chief financial officer Lois Scott.

The Virginia General Assembly gave final approval on Saturday to legislation that is projected to raise more than $800 million for transportation over the next five years.

Virginia is poised to enact a funding bill that raises sales taxes but slashes fuel taxes to create $200 million of new transportation revenue each year that could be used for bonding.

Municipal market participants are encouraged but cautious about President Obama's proposal for a new type of taxable, direct-pay bond called America Fast Forward bonds to finance the nation's infrastructure.

President Obama's proposal for a Build-America-Bonds-like program for infrastructure has its roots in a proposal by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and some infrastructure analysts say it represents a pro-business pivot from the White House.

A new Reason Foundation study analyzing road trends over the past two decades challenges claims of "crumbling infrastructure," which have been used by transportation advocates and policymakers as justification for everything from higher taxes to new or expanded bond programs.

Federal, state and local departments of transportation have so far obligated $7 billion in federal highway funds during fiscal year 2013, a 56% increase over the same period last year, according to a new report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

Several major airport credits could be negatively affected by operational shifts in the wake of the US Airways/American Airlines Merger, officially announced Thursday.

Public finance officials and infrastructure investors need to stop talking about "the deal" and start managing political risks with clear, easily understood language, participants at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce panel said Wednesday.

Market participants say munis are key to reaching the infrastructure goals laid out in President Obama's State of the Union Address, but caution that cuts to munis' tax benefits could make it difficult to fund the large-scale projects Obama described.